Twitter Claim They're Winning the Battle Against Abusive Behaviour

After much maligning, some of it very recent, Twitter have hit back
against their critics and claimed that they're actually winning the
fight against bad conduct on the platform. No social network's
reputation has suffered more for the existence of trolls, hate speakers
and extremists than Twitter, and for the most part, they've been unable
to quash any of the accusations thrown at them about it.

Typically, any statement Twitter make on the subject amounts to either
"we're working on it" or the introduction of a feature that purports to
deal with the issue, but really just redirects it. On Thursday, they
made a statement with a little bit more heft to it - they claim to have
identified and disciplined ten times as many abusive accounts as they
did a year ago. They also said they're getting fewer resurrected hate
accounts and fewer accounts being blocked by other users.

They didn't release any exact figures, or even ballpark figures, which
is a wise move on their part but may arouse suspicion amongst the more
skeptical critics, and they also haven't revealed any information about
the effectiveness of the new features they've brought in to deal with
abuse in past 12 months. It should also be pointed out that the
increased number of accounts being muzzled might not necessarily just
suggest that Twitter are getting better at identifying said accounts, it
might also mean that more of them are springing up.

Regardless, progress is progress, and this is the biggest single push
Twitter have made against this issue since launching. Jack Dorsey has
shown himself again and again not only to be committed to prioritising
the safety of the users, but also completely open to their criticisms
and suggestions for improvement. This milestone, if it is indeed as
progressive as it seems, feels like an affirmation of that ethos.

Even though celebrities are still quitting Twitter, and horror stories
about abuse behaviour are frequent, there are positive signs. Nothing
has spiralled out of control in the way GamerGate did since then, and
enforced limitations on abusive accounts have proven to be far more
effective than simply blocking or banning them, which has become
tantamount to social media whack-a-mole.

The one concrete figure Twitter were forthcoming with was the number of
accounts being blocked by other users - a 40% decline in the last four
months. That, in and of itself, does represent positive change, but what
matters is keeping that consistent. In the past, encouraging trends
have swiftly given way to the status quo, as trolls have found ways to
negotiate the obstacles placed in their way. It's not enough to push
things forward, Twitter will have to keep the momentum going if they
ever hope to turn the platform into a legitimately civil environment
(and/or get Ed Sheeran back).